Dimentio screamed at the top of his lungs and fell to ground, twitching uncontrollably. Mimi gasped, dropping her things.
"Dimentio!"
She ran up to him, trying to keep his arms and legs still. Dimentio had his eyes closed tightly, small sobs, and words came out of his mouth.
"...Lady Timpani...why did you...fire...fire everywhere..."
"Dimentio, snap out of it!" Mimi cried out of desperation. "Wake up! Look at me, listen to my voice. Don't lose consciousness on me... You need to stay strong, fight back the potion!"
Mimi continued to ramble, hoping to reach Dimentio somehow. It was the only thing she could. She hoped that she could at least get him stabilized so she could get help.
Suddenly, Dimentio stopped moving. His breathing quickened, but he was conscious enough to open his eyes. He stared at Mimi, as if trying to recognize who she was.
"Dimentio, can you hear me?" Mimi asked a little fear and hope rising in her voice.
Dimentio blinked slowly, staring at her.
Mimi held him steady as she looked around. Hope lit up on her face as she saw O'Chunks and Nastasia come into the garden.
"Nastasia, O'Chunks!"
At the sound of their names, they turned to her as she gestured them to come. Once she saw that they were on the way, Mimi looked back down at Dimentio and whispered, "Help is on the way. Everything is going to be alright."
Dimentio didn't say anything or moved.
Nastasia and O'Chunks finally arrived at the scene, their eyes widening at the sight.
"What happened?" Nastasia asked unable to keep the shock out her voice.
"Dimentio drank a potion, and he is reacting to it," Mimi explained, keeping her eyes on Dimentio. "He was having a seizure, but it seemed to have stopped."
"What kind of potion did he drink?"
Mimi quickly explained how she was going to teach Dimentio shape shifting, the potion itself, and it's side effects. When she was finished, Nastasia gave a slight nod.
"I see. Count Bleck and I have dealt with this kind of magic before. He will be able to get it out of Dimentio's system."
She turned to O'Chunks.
"You and Mimi need to get Dimentio to his room and keep him conscious and heart rate normal. I'll go get the count and meet you there."
O'Chunks nodded solemnly and Nastasia teleported away. He then picked up Dimentio.
"Do you know where his room is?"
"I do. Just follow me."
Mimi led the way into the castle and up to the third floor. When they got to Dimentio's room, Mimi tried to open the door but it was locked. She cursed.
"Great. I guess we have to wait until Count Bleck and Nastasia come."
She looked over at Dimentio.
"How is he doing?"
"From what I can tell, he's okay," O'Chunks said. "Though I don't think he can last much longer..."
He sat Dimentio against the wall gingerly.
"Mimi, talk to him to keep him awake. He can't fall asleep, or he will definitely die."
"Wait, why me?" Mimi questioned fearfully. "What makes you think that would work?"
"Ask questions later, just do it."
Mimi stared at O'Chunks, surprised at the confidence and intelligence in his voice. He took a step back, giving her and Dimentio some room. Mimi got to eye level with Dimentio, whose cloudy eyes stared blankly at her.
"Dimentio, I'm sorry that this is happening to you," Mimi said sincerely. "I should have stopped you when I had the chance. I knew it wouldn't work, but yet I let you do it anyway. I promise I won't let you die if I can help it."
Dimentio eyes widened a bit at the words 'let you die.' He mumbled something, but it was too muffled up for Mimi to understand it.
Just then, Count Bleck and Nastasia teleported to them. As if knowing the situation perfectly, Count Bleck unlocked the door to Dimentio's room with a spare key. O'Chunks and Mimi helped Dimentio up and placed him on top of his bed.
Count Bleck studied him.
"...Count Bleck knows what to do. He isn't completely lost yet, he can be saved."
He turned to the others.
"I need everyone to leave the room while I perform a spell to counter the potion's effect. Wait outside."
O'Chunks and Nastasia nodded and slowly left the room. Mimi gave Dimentio one last look before she reluctantly made herself leave. Once all three of them where outside and the door was closed, they waited in complete silence. Mimi paced a bit, wanting nothing more than anything for Dimentio to be okay.
Or at least be at his side.
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Count Bleck reopened the door.
"Dimentio should be fine now," he said in a low voice. "Physically, he will make a full recovery. But it might take some time for him to mentally recover. He may be unconscious for a few days, but he will be up again soon."
Mimi let out a sigh of relief.
"So there is nothing to worry about? Can I see him?"
"If you want, just be quiet. Dimentio needs to get as much rest as possible."
Mimi nodded and quickly passed Count Bleck, moving to Dimentio's bedside. Dimentio was laying completely still, breathing softly and peacefully. Mimi sat next to his bedside, praying silently that Dimentio will be alright.
Dimentio felt like his head was going to explode as he slowly opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling, trying to remember what was going on.
How did I get to my room? Wasn't I with Mimi in the garden about to take the potion?
Did he even take the potion?
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, the door to his room opened, revealing a tiny bit of light. Dimentio sat up slowly to see Nastasia walk in. Nastasia stopped were she was, surprised to see Dimentio looking at her. She gave a small smile.
"Looks like you're feeling better. How long have you've been awake?"
"For a few minutes," Dimentio replied. "Though, I'm not one hundred percent sure how I got here. I don't really remember much from last night."
"You mean four nights ago."
Dimentio blinked.
"You've been out for four, about to be five, days," Nastasia explained. "From what Mimi told us, you had taken this really dangerous potion and it didn't react well your body. If it wasn't for Count Bleck, you would have been dead."
Dimentio was silent for a moment. Slowly, tiny fragments of what happened appear in his mind. Though, most of it was unclear and vague, not making much sense.
"Though, now that you're up, you should probably see Mimi."
"...Pardon?"
Nastasia gave a small smile.
"Mimi was awfully worried about you. She spent all most all her time in here with you, never leaving your side. In fact, we had to bring her dinners to her because she was so stubborn."
"Really?"
"Yeah. She's really fond of you, if you haven't noticed. But, anyways…"
Nastasia headed towards the door.
"You did miss out on a lot of training while you were out. Whenever you feel up to it, Count Bleck will do some extra training with you, k?"
Dimentio nodded in reply and Nastasia closed the door. Dimentio sat on the edge of the bed for a few moments, thinking over what Nastasia said.
When she mentioned Mimi was worried about him, he could feel his heart skip a beat. For whatever reason…it made him happy knowing that Mimi cared for him.
"Dimentio, I'm sorry that this is happening to you. I should have stopped you when I had the chance. I knew it wouldn't work, but yet I let you do it anyway. I promise I won't let you die if I can help it."
Those words rang in his ears, repeating over and over again.
Dimentio cursed himself.
No! He can't afford himself to start developing feelings for her. What happened last time he cared for someone…he couldn't let that happened again. He had to be strong, an unbreakable mask to hide any true emotion. He would be close to her, yes, but only to help get the Dark Prognosticus. Once he got it, he would be done with her.
Mimi meant nothing to him. No one did and no one will.
"Got any threes?" Mimi asked as she and O'Chunks played Gold Fish.
"Nope," O'Chunks answered, studying his hand. "Gold fish."
Mimi let out a low growl as she drew another card. She gazed towards Nastasia's chair, which was empty.
"Ugh, what is taking Nastasia so long? It's her turn! It shouldn't take that long to check up on Dimentio!"
"Relax, Mimi," O'Chunks said, trying to get her to lower her voice. "I'm sure she will be back soon. Just be patient."
"I don't have patience! She just needs to be faster! Her and that bossy, uptight attitude of hers…"
"Okay, that was uncalled for!"
O'Chunks glared at Mimi, which frightened her a bit.
"Nastasia, along the rest of us, are just as worried about Dimentio as you are. But we aren't obsessing over it or getting mad at everything for it. If you're going to act like how you are now, I suggest that you take it somewhere else, where the rest of us can't hear it."
Mimi glared at O'Chunks for a moment.
"…Fine then!"
Out of anger, Mimi threw her cards at the table and stormed out of the living room. She didn't bother to look back at O'Chunks because deep down, she knew he was right. Taking a deep breath of air, Mimi made her way towards the stairway. As she went up, she heard a loud popping sound. She turned around to see Dimentio floating behind her.
He smiled at her.
"Ciao Mimi."
As soon as he said that, Mimi let out a cry of joy. She jumped on top of him, forcing him to get back on the ground, and gave a large hug.
"Oh my God Dimentio! You had me so worried! Do you have any idea how upset I was?"
"...I don't think I can ever guess," Dimentio replied, chocking a bit. "Mimi, though it's really great to see you, you're crushing me a bit."
Mimi blushed a bit and took a step back.
"...Sorry, I was just really excited to see you up. You had me very scared."
"That's okay. It's...nice to know someone cares about my health."
He let out a small laugh.
"I guess the potion backed fired, like a science experiment gone wrong."
"That's why I told you to wait before you drank it!" Mimi exclaimed. "My sister and I weren't kidding when we said it was dangerous!"
"I know, and I was wrong for not listening. I promise I won't do something that dangerous again."
Mimi narrowed her eyes a bit, and unconvinced look in her eyes.
"...Are you willing to keep that promise? Don't bother promising anything if you can't keep it. I'm serious about promises. I don't make promises with anyone if they can't keep it."
Dimentio gave a look of shock, as if it was the last thing he expected Mimi to say. He was silent for a bit, before he revealed a large smile.
"I promise to keep my word, like a solider willing to sacrifice his life for his king."
Mimi gave a small smile in reply.
At that moment, O'Chunks and Nastasia came in.
"You're looking better, Dimentio," O'Chunks said. "You think you are up to training again?"
Dimentio smirked.
"I'm always looking for a challenge and ways to better myself. Why, are you challenging me to a duel?"
"Maybe. I've gotten a lot stronger with my training with the count. And I do have a score to settle with you. However, I still go by what I said last time."
There was a threatening tone in O'Chunks's voice with that last sentence.
"...Well, Dimentio can't go straight back to training," Mimi mentioned. "We have to make sure he makes a full recovery before he does anything intense."
"Yes, but I do want to go back to training," Dimentio added. "I've been unconscious for five days. I'm looking forward to some action. Though, like I promised, I won't do anything past my limit."
Mimi crossed her arms.
"You better. Or I'll be forced to hold you back."
Dimentio chuckled.
"Let's hope it doesn't go to that."
"Well, Dimentio, since you're up and about, I assume you want to eat dinner with the rest of us," Nastasia interrupted. "But if you want to get more rest, I can always bring your dinner to you."
"That's unnecessary. Like I said, I want to do anything but sleep."
Nastasia smiled.
"K. If that is what you want."
She looked down at her watch.
"I should go prepare dinner. Glad you are up again, Dimentio."
She then teleported to the kitchen.
O'Chunks grinned to himself.
"Aw, looking forward to a good dinner."
He turned to Dimentio.
"You may be a bit different, Dimentio, but I'm glad to see that you are alright. I hate to see people in pain, even if there are some things I don't like about them. See you two at dinner."
He then went up the stairs, heading towards his bedroom.
"Well...this has been an interesting evening," Dimentio said when O'Chunks was out of ear shot. "Though, I should probably talk to the count about training. After all, I've missed so much. Ciao for now, Mimi."
He was about to walk up stairs when Mimi suddenly asked, "Hey, Dimentio. Before you go, would like to ask you something."
Dimentio glanced back, waiting patiently for the question.
"...I know that you don't like talking about your past, and it isn't any of my business," Mimi explained in a low voice, "but when you're were out, you talked a bit in your sleep... And I'm curious. Who is Timpani?"
Dimentio's eyes widened at the sound of the name.
Mimi forced herself to keep eye contact. She knew she shouldn't have asked and she knew that Dimentio would get upset like he did before. But, she had to know if this Timpani...
There was a long silence as Dimentio's gaze hardened.
"She is no one. She is just a person I knew a long time ago and that's it."
He paused for a moment.
"Tell me, how much did I speak of her?"
"A bit. You also mentioned things like fire and being 'left to die,' whatever that means."
Dimentio stared at nearby wall, organizing his thoughts. Mimi stood where she was, hoping that he wouldn't be angry with her.
"Mimi, I want you to promise me something," Dimentio finally said complete seriousness in his voice. "Like I promised you that I wouldn't get hurt, promise me that you will never speak of her or anything else you heard me say. Never talk to me about it or question why. Do you understand me?"
Mimi stared at him. Though she didn't understand why he wanted it to be a secret, Mimi gave a small nod and said, "I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die."
Dimentio made a small nod and then went up the stairs.
When he was gone, Mimi let out a heavy sigh. It seemed like the more she tried to get to know him, the more questions would rise, like a never ending war.
Will I ever get to know him?